Bilateral CooperationPrague 8 October 2015

Lillian Solheim, Arts Council Norway

Donor States

Arts Council is DPP

Arts Council is not DPP

Good news!

135 Norwegian cultural actors involved in PA 17 projects!

17 out of 19 counties represented

Norwegian project partners • 24 partners: Two or more projects. • 13 partners: More than one country. • 60% are registered outside of Oslo • Relatively evenly spread across

sectors and type of organisation

Lofotr Viking Museum is cooperating with similar museum in Lithuania. Photo: Kjell Ove Storvik

But…│ … most issues are soved through good

dialogue and good cooperation!

Partner search • Partner requests • Travel grants • Matchmaking

A Czech version of Jo Strømgren’s Dance Tribute to Ping Pong was set up in Prague. Photo credit: Knut Bry

Evaluation of applicationsUse of Norwegian experts: • EEA Grants Ambassadors • Deeper understanding of the

EEA Grants• Stronger understanding between

DPP and PO of cultural policy• New input to our own systems of

evaluation• Time-consuming and labour

intensive

Lightbridge Toruń–Slemmestad (NO & PO). Light installations and the multimedia projections

Implementation issues • Complicated administrative

procedures • Partners feel that demands

concerning reporting are too large for their part

• Documentation – demands do not always meet Norwegian reality

• Reimbursement takes time • Public procurement • Not included in decisions • Excessive interpretation of

requirements

Sniper’s Lake: Czech – Norwegian dance co-production. Photo: Vojtech Brtnicky

Norwegian and Portuguese students are creating operas in «Write a Science Opera»

But… … most issues are soved through good dialogue and good cooperation!

Drøbak (NO) and Kuldiga (LV) are friendship cities. Through EEA Grants they could deepend their cooperation

Key ingredients for for success? • Communication• Joint project development and

planning• Involvement of partners in all

stages • Trust• Common understanding of

content and strategy• Common goal and vision • Agreement on budget • Long-term perspective

Cirkus Xanti (Norway) travelled with their circus tents to Portugal and Czech Republic

Recommendations• Ensure that the reporting

requirements and administrative burden corresponds with amount granted

• Mid-term meetings for partners

• Manage expectations on all sides

• Relevant documents in English

• Involve Arts Council Norway as a DPP

Future plans• Collect experiences

and good practices:• survey • thematic focus

groups • Report published

next year • Final conference for

Norwegian project partners

Norwegian photographer Marie Sjøvold (photo credit) was exhibited during the Photo Romania Festival